Rail-joint



J. A. MCDONALD.

RAIL JOKNT.

' APPLICATION FILED AUG-5,1919. 1,356,931, 7 Patented Oct. 26, 1920.

v I 'F A UNITED STATES A O FI E-f JOHN A. MCDONALD, or AnAns srAss, 'rnxns.

RAIL-JOINT, l

Application flled August 5, 19l9'. *SeriaiNo. 315,451.

skilled in the art to which it appertains to make use of the same. I I v v This invention relates to omtsfor the meeting ends of rails,'and more especially,

to those of that type known as scarf joints;

and the object of the same is to produce a.

joint of this character so constructed that as the wheel crosses the same theload on one rail-end will be transferred to andsustained the other rail-end,'first partially and then entirely, with the result that the sagging of parts at this point will be avoided and the" rail caused to stand as firm at the joint as at any other place throughout itslength.

Anotlienobject is to prevent vertical or lateral displacement or disengagement of the rails from each other, .even thoughthe connecting bolts should become loose or broken or be entirely omitted.

Vi ith these ends in view theinvention consists broadly in removinghalfof each rail end so as to leave a projecting tongue, the

same being undercut'to produce two shoul-j ders adapted to coact withmating steps on the other rail, and in forming certain of these steps with tongues and; grooves to prevent lateral displacement while still permitting expansion and contraction longitudinally. V I

In the accompanying drawings: I Figure 1 is a plan view of this jointwith the rail-ends connected.

Fig. 2 is a similar plan with the rail-ends slightly separated and allb'olts omitted.

Fig. 3 is a side elevation with the rails separated. p v Fig. 4 is a perspective view of one railend, and Figs. 5 and.6' are, sectional views through two rails. p The rail-ends are of exactly the same construction, with the result that when they are turned so as to meet they will engage each other as shownin- Fig. 1. For this reason a description ofone rail-end will suffice.

The body of the rail at theleft of Fig. 3 has the usual ball B, web W, and base flanges F, and it is held to the ties by appropriate Specification of Letters Patent. Pafgnted Oct, 26,

1 rail. point extends downward in a wall 16. thence starting at the extremity of the rail atthe naming means engaging saidflanges At each endtherail is practically bisected to produce a tongue 1, the lineof bisection point-2, extending thence along the center i of the ball at 3 back to the pointehtheremak ing a right angle and carried to one side of the ball atthe point Thusthe near halt of therail in Fig. 3 is cut away, to form a recess'whicli is shaped to receive the tongue of the companion rail. The inner end'ot this-recess is composed of a wall 6 leading.

vertically downward to the point 5, thence the material is carried forward in a Step7, which is grooved at 8 seen in dotted lines in Fig. 3 and in full lines in Fig; 4., thence the material is carried again downward at 9 and'carried forward in a second steplO, and

finally the material is carried again downwardat 11 to the bottom of the base flange F, the side 12 otthis last-step being pref erably flat and standing substantially in the 'planeof the side ofthe other step as shown.

So much for the construction at'the inner endof the recess which isproduced by cutting away the material to form thetonguel; 7 From the point 2' at the outer'end of the to'ngue'the line to the point 15 indicates the; I

thickness of the end of the tongue, and is of course half the width oftheball B of the, I f

From this cross line the end of'the horizontally inward in a shoulder 17 whichalong its inner edge has a depending tongue 18, thence downward at 19, horizontally in- Ward in a second shoulder 20, and again downward at 21, the outer side of the face i 21 being shaped as at 22 to mate with the side 12 described above. Finally the tongue liasan opening 27 above the step 7 and an opening 28 above'the shoulder 20. f i

Fig. 2 shows two rail-ends as'thus constructed, slightly separated, and Fig. 1,

shows them engaged with each other. It will be obvious that when the faces of the two tongues are brought together and one rail slid longitudinally toward the other, each tongue 18 slides'into a groove 8 at the time thatits shoulder 17 slides over the step 7 and at the time that the shoulder 20 slides Hoverthestop'lO. vArt the time the faces 9 and 19 abut, the faces 11 and 21 will abut and the openings 27, 28 in one rail will re 'ster with the openingsj28, 27 of the ot er rail. These openings are shown round but they may beelongated or maybe made a large enough for the rather loose reception of the fastening bolts 30 which are applied to connect the rail-ends'to each other, the obvious purpose being to permit expansion and contraction of the rails. During this action one rail-end slides a little toward or away from the other, as the engagement of i the several shoulders with their respective steps permits, and even the engagement of the tongue 18 with the groove 8 permits. Yet the latter prevents the lateral separation of the tongues of the two rails until and unless they shall withdraw from each other so far longitudinally that the tongue and grooves become disengaged, and it is my intention to have these parts so long that they will not disengage by contraction. Each shoulder rests upon its step, and each step is ii'itegral at one end with the tongue along which it is cast. wheel carrying a heavy load passes over this rail joint, the load passes iirst from the ball B on to the tongue 1 where the weight is divided between this tongue and that of the mating rail, and by the latter it is conveyed to the steps of the first rail. As the wheel progresses, the load on the tongue of the rail beingleft is conveyed to the steps on the rail being approached, and eventually the-wheel passes fully onto the ball B of the last-named rail, and on its way. ,Thus it will be seen that this rail joint accomplishes the objects first pointed out above, may be very easily mated with a like joint in a companion rail, and is economical in manufacture because the ends of the rails are-made in duplicate. "While the face of the tongue 1 has been shown as cut off on a line following the transverse center of the rail, it

Therefore," when a is not impossible that this line could stand a little oblique. Other changes and adaptations are possible but need not be suggested.

What is claimed as new is: l. A rail joint comprising duplicate railends whereof each is cut vertically and longitudinally through the ball of the rail 'downwardly to produce a tongue at one side and a recess at the other, the base of the recess having two upwardly facing steps and 2. The combination of two rail sections,

each ofsaid rail sections being cut away forming a tongue and having a longitudlnal groove alongside the rear portion of said tongue and having an angular portion alongside the tongue below said groove and inwardly from the outer edge of the flange of the rail, and the end portion of each rail section being undercut forming a flat under face and a longitudinal depending tongue, and the'lower portion of the tongue below said undercut portion being further undercut forming an angular recess in the bottom of the tongue.

In testimony whereof, I affix my signature, 111 the-presence of two witnesses.

JOHN A. McDONALD.

lVitnesses i WM. ROMAN, JoHN 'SIGMUND. 

